Rotocraft Certification by Simulation and Analysis

Rotorcraft Certification by Simulation and Analysis

Date – 15-19^th September 2025

Location – School of Engineering, The University of Liverpool, UK

The course will follow the structured Rotorcraft Certification by Simulation (RCbS) Process described in detail in the Springer Book of the same title, guiding trainees through the application of flight simulation and analysis to support certification compliance with EASA CS-27 and CS-29.

Cost £2600, 20% non-refundable deposit required on booking, remaining payment due 30th June 2025 – cost of deposit is deducted from final payment. Should the course not take place, all deposits will be funded.

Course Description

The course will follow the structured Rotorcraft Certification by Simulation (RCbS) Process described in detail in the Springer Book of the same title, guiding trainees through the application of flight simulation and analysis to support certification compliance with EASA CS-27 and CS-29.

Using a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach, trainees will work in teams to ‘learn by doing’; starting with the selection of the Applicable Certification Rules (ACRs) and following the Process through the assembly of flight simulation requirements, informed by judgements on Influence, Predictability and Credibility, and on into the detailed building of the content of the Flight Simulation Model and Flight Simulator to ensure ‘sufficient’ fidelity and representivity.

The course will provide early adopters with the skills and knowledge needed to apply the RCbS Process in practice. It is designed for:

•             Professionals experienced in modelling and simulation for rotorcraft design and development.

•             Flight test engineers looking to understand simulation-based certification methods.

•             Those interested in expanding their expertise in this rapidly evolving field.

 

The course will build on industry good-practices but is considered a significant step forward in the development of certification methods, particularly in terms of the importance of a structured, requirements-based Process, using adaptable-fidelity, descriptive and predictive simulation tools and associated pre-certification flight testing, to reach the goal of a credible flight simulation, fit for certification.

Trainees will form teams, each focussing on a specific ACR, selecting goals for their certification credit. FLIGHTLAB models of the aircraft will be used, along with Liverpool’s hexapod HELFLIGHT-R flight simulator to assess fidelity sufficiency. Test pilots will support the course with piloted-simulation assessments using the Handling Qualities and Simulation Fidelity Rating scales.

While the primary focus of the RCbS Springer Book:

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-86398-1

and this Course will be conventional rotorcraft, the opportunity will be taken to explore its relevance to flight-related aspects in EASA’s Special Condition for VTOL-capable aircraft. The structure of the course will be finalised and released in due course.